1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a safety arrangement for a vehicle or part of a vehicle, in particular, a motor vehicle such as a truck, tanker, tailer or bus.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that vehicles for various reasons, e.g. travelling at an excessive speed through turns, violent maneuvers to avoid collisions, or collisions with fixed structures or other vehicles, may be induced to overturn For many vehicles, the cargo or contents, such as in trucks and tankers, has a significant influence on the overturning tendency of the vehicle. For example, stored liquid can shift within a container upon sudden maneuvers of the tankers. This moving liquid can cause an impelling force contributing to overturning of the vehicle. In general, these so-called unpackaged tankers have a relatively higher chance of overturning than other vehicles.
Unpackaged tankers are often filled with chemical or petrochemical material. An undesirable result of the tanker overturning can be a crack or rupture in the tank leading to spillage of the material stored within. This has many undesirable effects including risk of fire, contamination of the environment with the contents of the tanker, and explosion.
It will be understood from the foregoing that there is a need for protecting motor vehicles, such as tankers, from damage in case of an overturning condition.
The above-mentioned needs are addressed by the invention which, in one aspect, is a shock absorbing apparatus which can be applied to an outside of a vehicle wherein the apparatus will expand or enlarge in volume upon initial overturning of the vehicle such that the apparatus deploys shock absorbing elements between the road and the overturning vehicle such that damage to the vehicle and/or the road is reduced The safety apparatus also reduces the risks of materials contained within the tanker from escaping the same. According to one aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes inflatable flexible containers applied to relevant sides of the vehicle and a control system which will measure and react to an overturning of the vehicle and activate an inflation system for inflating the containers.
In other aspects, the safety arrangement includes a control system provided with sensors which continuously indicate pressures upon the wheels of the vehicle and the position of the wheel shafts of the vehicle with respect to the road surface, In the event of a lack of a predefined wheel pressure with respect to the road caused by, e.g., loss of contact with one or more of the wheels with the road and or a detection of an excessive degree of vehicle tilt, the start of an overturn condition is registered by the system and inflation of the relevant containers is initiated on the overturning, downward side of the vehicle. Impact between the vehicle and the road is absorbed by the inflated containers so as to reduce damage to the vehicle, possibly other adjacent vehicles, and the road as well as protecting the surrounding environment from deleterious effects which could be caused by rupture of the tanker. In another aspect, the amount of wheel pressure and/or the relative position of the wheel shafts of the vehicle with respect to the road will determine activation of the inflation system for the relevant containers. This aspect of the invention inhibits unnecessary inflation of the relevant containers in the event of a short interruption of contact between one or more wheels and the road without other indication of an incipient overturn of the vehicle.
The inflatable containers can be filled with a gas which is normally maintained either as a solid or liquid or as a gas stored at high pressure which is released into the container to inflate the same. In certain aspects, the gas may be a fire inhibiting gas, such as a halogen gas, and/or a reactive material acting to reduce undesirable chemical effects of a spilled or leaked material within the vehicle.
Another aspect of the invention is that the safety apparatus is configured as substantially flat and elongate elements extending lengthwise along the sides of the vehicle, and, in certain aspects thereof, may substantially follow the contour of the vehicle such that the aerodynamic resistance of the vehicle provided with the safety apparatus is affected to a reduced extent However, as previously mentioned the safety apparatus includes inflatable containers which would extend outwards from the sides of the vehicle to provide protection in case of an overturn condition. An additional advantageous aspect of the invention is that placement of the safety apparatus along the sides of the vehicle provides an insulative layer to the vehicle which may include tanks.
Yet another aspect of the invention is that the inflatable containers may be made of a durable material, such as a synthetic material, provided with abrasion resistant ridge protrusions such that the material of the contains provides an increased coefficient of friction with the road. This aspect of the invention provides the advantage that an overturned vehicle in sliding motion with the road will benefit from the increased coefficient of friction of the inflatable containers and thus the sliding momentum of the vehicle will be arrested in a reduced distance thereby reducing opportunities for collisions with other vehicles or obstacles.
These and further objects and advantages of the invention will be explained in greater detail in the detailed description as follows with reference being made to the drawings.